Good yeast for saison fermenting @ ~82f?

[BierKoning]

Hey All,

I want to brew my first saison style (extract kit) but I'm not sure what would be the best yeast strain to use.

I'm planning on a 3gal batch that will have to sit on my kitchen floor, which here in sunny SoCal with no A/C stays pretty consistently around 80-84f. My fermentation chiller is a re-purposed wine fridge with temp control and is full with a 5gal carboy of Edworts Apfelwein but I wanted to get something going in the mean time with my spare 3gal carboy for small batches.

I was thinking of using the allegedly uber strong Wyeast 3724 but I read that it can have "bubble-gum flavors" and I absolutely despise bubble-gum so I wanted to stay away from that. My other options were 3711 or the Ardennes 3522 but I was concerned about the really high ferm temps and still wanting to get a good saison flavor (fruity, floral, citrusy, etc.)

Anyone use either of these strains before? Good results? Any advice?

 

[pohldogg]

I wouldn't expect bubble gum out of the dupont strain, in fact most folks have to push that strain to 85 or 90 to get it to finish out. I used it for a sour saison this summer that fermented in the 80s, and no bubble gum at all. You're probably good with any of the saison strains from wl or wy at that temp. Trying 3711 for the first time this weekend and it'll spend it's life at 80+. The non-saison belgian strains is where i'd start to worry about gummy flavors.

 

[smagee]

I made a rye saison a few weeks back with 3711 that I managed to hold around 75F for the first few days before letting it naturally rise into the 80s somewhere. No bubble gum whatsoever out of this one, with a very distinct saison funkiness. I'd recommend it for any saison brew.

 

[BierKoning]

Thanks for the quick replies, glad to hear about no bubble-gum flavors!

If you had to recommended one, which would be best for my temps?

 

[jmarshall]

I'm currently (literally right now) drinking a rye saison that I fermented at 85 with saison dupont yeast. No bubblegum whatsoever, some pepper instead. In fact it is delicious. Mine was an actual bottle culture, but I suspect the wyeast version would do the same. The only thing is that it took a while (25 days) to finish out dry. took off like crazy, but finished slow, which I hear is typical for the strain.

 

[Calder]

I think the upper temperature for 3711 is 75F, so if you can't hold it that 'low', go with a different strain. I do ferment 3711 at 75, and push it up to 85 to finish, and it comes out really good.

Try something like WLP550.